Brendan had arrived in Port Au Prince the afternoon of Jan. 12. He was traveling to another city to the north, but was rerouted to the Haitian capital because of weather. He had time to send his family an e-mail and was talking on-line with his girlfriend when the quake hit and the connection was lost. He was in the country as a consultant for Solaris International for the purpose of completing a eco-tourism feasibility study, Anne said. Friday, Jan. 15 was his birthday. He turned 35. "Brendan is the brightest light," Anne said in an earlier interview, "and he lived more in these 35 years than most people do in their lifetimes." Her stepson climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, journeyed on the Trans Siberian Railway, sailed more than 4,000 miles on the Mediterrean Sea and the Indian Ocean and traveled the world. He was a Peace Corps volunteer. "We are very appreciative of the messages of support we have received from people here in Clay County," Anne said. "There have been emails, cards, and phone calls, some even from people with whom we are not acquainted. The thoughts and prayers from so many have been a blessing during these past five difficult weeks."

Thirty-four days after an earthquake leveled the upscale Hotel Montana in Port Au Prince, Haiti, Brendan Beck is coming home. For his parents Barry and Anne Beck, of Hayesville, it is not the homecoming they had hoped for.

Brendan's body was recovered from the rubble Monday.

"One nightmare is over and another begins," wrote Barry on a University of Florida web forum Monday.

The U.S. State Department informed the family Monday that Brendan's remains had been positively identified and would be flown to Dover Air Force Base, Del. with other recovered Americans.

A memorial service will be at 4 p.m. held this Saturday, Feb. 20, at the House of Refuge in Stuart, Fla.

"This spot on the shore of the Atlantic was chosen because of his love of the ocean," Anne said. "His remains will be cremated and in the spring, his family and close friends will scatter his ashes in the waters off Boca Grande in Florida where he loved to fish with his brother Matthew, and his friends."

"While news of his recovery was what we hoped and prayed for over the last few weeks, it was news we wanted to hear, but at the same time it was news we did not want to hear," Anne said.

Brendan had arrived in Port Au Prince the afternoon of Jan. 12. He was traveling to another city to the north, but was rerouted to the Haitian capital because of weather. He had time to send his family an e-mail and was talking on-line with his girlfriend when the quake hit and the connection was lost.

He was in the country as a consultant for Solaris International for the purpose of completing a eco-tourism feasibility study, Anne said.

Friday, Jan. 15 was his birthday. He turned 35.

"Brendan is the brightest light," Anne said in an earlier interview, "and he lived more in these 35 years than most people do in their lifetimes."

Her stepson climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, journeyed on the Trans Siberian Railway, sailed more than 4,000 miles on the Mediterrean Sea and the Indian Ocean and traveled the world. He was a Peace Corps volunteer.

"We are very appreciative of the messages of support we have received from people here in Clay County," Anne said. "There have been emails, cards, and phone calls, some even from people with whom we are not acquainted. The thoughts and prayers from so many have been a blessing during these past five difficult weeks."

Brendan, of Washington, D.C., is survived by his mother Sally Baldwin of Ft. Worth, Texas, his father and stepmother Barry and Anne Beck of Hayesville, his sister Jennifer of Jacksonville, Fla., his brother Matthew of Arden, N.C, and his grandmother Jean Beck of Jupiter, Fla, as well as several aunts, uncles, cousins and many loving friends.

Brendan, a graduate of the University of Florida, was a civil engineer by trade. He served in the Peace Corps, working in Africa and on the island of Anguilla. He was planning to pursue a doctorate in engineering at the University of Florida.

An endowment fund has been set up in his memory at the University of Florida. Information can be found at www.uff.ufl.edu/Appeals/Brendan Beck and donations can be made at this same site or checks may be mailed to Linda Raney, Gift Processing Manager, University of Florida Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 14425, Gainesville, FL 32604-2425, and must specifically be noted for the Brendan S. Beck Fund for Sustainable Infrastructure.

"Throughout the United States and the world, there are aging infrastructure systems that are in need of repair and replacement," Brendan wrote in his graduate application to the university. "A thorough comprehension of the interrelation of infrastructure and environment can pay dividends in this field by minimizing costs, increasing lifecycle and decreasing environmental impacts."

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Story Source: Clay County Progress

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Mali; COS - Haiti; Obituaries

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